Arlington-based FNIS Flood Services has enjoyed a long relationship and a strong alumni allegiance with UTA. More than half of the company’s employees have attended the University or are currently enrolled.

In August, FNIS Flood, a division of Fidelity National Information Solutions, donated a complete set of Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps to the Environmental Science and Engineering Program in the College of Science. The donation is valued in excess of $335,000 and includes more than 100,000 individual paper maps and a set of digital images.

“Many of our employees are current or former UTA students, and several of our managers hold degrees from UTA,” noted Mark Reedy, senior vice president and general manager of FNIS Flood. “Through this donation, we hope to show support for our local university as well as increase awareness of FNIS at the University. We consider UTA a great resource for our company.”
 
The maps are housed in the Central Library’s Special Collections Division as part of the Virginia Garrett Cartographic History Library. The gift will assist researchers in environmental sciences, urban planning and related fields.
 
“This is an extremely valuable asset that will complement our growing Environmental Science and Engineering Program,” said Paul Medley, assistant dean in the College of Science.

Reedy, who earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising from UTA in 1991, says the University was a logical choice for the donation because of FNIS Flood’s relationship with the College of Science and UTA’s nationally recognized map collection.

“The University of Texas at Arlington has been a very close ally for the Flood Services group for a number of years,” said Brian Hershkowitz, executive vice president of the FNIS Lender Services Division. “Going digital, along with our other next-generation technologies, has virtually eliminated our reliance on paper maps, allowing us to better serve our customers and pass along these valuable resources to the University.”

Now, researchers at UTA can put these resources to good use.